Reversing drive mechanism



' NOV. 1-1, 1947. WATERS 2,430,625

REVERSING DRIVE MECHANISM Filed Jan.' 25, 1944 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. .fimv LANDON Mme.

Nov. 11, 1947. J. 1.. WATERS REVERSING DRIVE MECHANISM Filed Jan. 25, 1944 2 Sheets -Shee t 2 mmvroze. dbmv Lmpou .MTBRS Patented Nov. 11, 1947 UNITED STATES ENT OFFICE BEVERSING DRIVE MECHANISM Application January 25, 1944, Serial IND-519,606

Mypresent invention relates to motor propelled vehicles, and more particularly to an improved drive and controlling means for a vehicle or an industrial truck of. the type illustrated and described, in my previously issued Patent No. 2,377,389, dated June 5, 1944, and entitled Motorized hand truck.

An object of the invention is to provide a new, novel and practical'control for a power propelled vehicle or an, industrial truck of the type having a single supporting: and/or driving wheel at the trailing end thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and effective connecting means fOr the drive of a motor propelled vehicle with which the vehicle may be. started, stopped and reversed by an operation of said means and without resort to any braking means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and, inexpensive reversible power transmitting drive for a power driven vehicle or truck having a single drivin and/or supporting wheel by which: an operator riding astride the rear wheel may control the vehicle'with foot action while his hands are free to effect a steering of the: vehicle.

Other objects and advantages of the invention Will be in part evident to those skilled in the art and, in part pointed'out hereinafter in the following-description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein there is shown by way of illustration and not of limitation a preferred embodiment thereof.

Inthe drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side View showing myimproved driving and controlling means as appliedto'an industrial truck of the type shown and described in my aforementioned copending application,

FigureZ is a plan view of the truck as shown in ure Figure 3 is a fragmentary side, elevation of my improved-device with parts'broken away,

Figure 4 is a substantially vertical sectional view taken along line IV-IV of Figure 3, looking in direction of arrows,

Figure 5 is a. fragmentary sectionalview of the device taken along line V,V of Figure 4, looking in direction of arrows, and

Figure 6 isa partial sectional view taken along line-VIVI of Figure 4,- looking in direction of arrows.

Upon referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, it will be-noted that my presentinvention issillustratedas applied to an industrial vehicle 5 Claims. (01. 74-220) or truck of: the'type, disclosed in my aboveidentified patent. In these'views the numeral I0 designatesa chassis'or frame which in this particular type of truck moves in trailing relation with a forwardly disposed steerable portion to which it is attached by means of a substantially vertical spindle assembly l l. This forward steerable-portion will be found more particularly described in my above patent, and'since this feature forms no part of the present invention, it may, for the purposes of this disclosure, be only briefly described as comprising a forward steerable frame portion (not shown) which isarticulately attached-to the chassis or frame lilby-means of the spindle assembly M. This steerable frame portion has a transversely extending axle upon the ends of which two spaced forward supporting wheels aremounted, and extending rearwardly from this frame portion there is ameans by'which the vehicle or truck maybe steered by an operator riding: astridea. rear: chassis driving or supporting;

wheel, designatedby'thenumeral [2. The driving wheel I2' is; here shown as supported upon a transverse axle that extends between the rear ends ofthe chassis'or frame l0; In; these views the chassis HI-is-alsoshown as formed of tubing bent into a substantially-U-shaped configuration and which is turned up at its forward end so asto connect with the spindle assembly I l at its upwelded thereto. Intermediate its ends the chassis or frame Ill carriesa foundation plate It upon which a-power producing unit, suchas aninternal combustion engine, designated generally by the numeral. H, is adjustablysecured. At its rear end. thefoundation plate liisupports a bearing pedestal 18. in which is jour-naled a transversely extending power take-01f or driving shaft l9, as

will be described hereinafter in more detail. Ex

appear, are adapted by a rocking-of the enclos-- ing housing 2|, to be moved into and out of engagement with a cylindrical power delivery means 24 that is driven in a continuous and unidirectional manner by the power producing internal combustion engine H. For the purpose of rocking the enclosing housing 2! and thus bring the forward or reverse travel producing cylindrical members 22 and 23into and out of engagement with the cylindrical power delivery means 24, there is an upwardly extending manually operable lever 25 that is connected to the upper end of the enclosing housin 2| by a link 26. The lever 25 is shown as journaled upon a transverse axis so that it may be moved backward and forward by the hand of an operator and rock the enclosing housing 2| about its journaled support upon the pedestal 18. This lever 25 will be found convenient for jogging or moving the vehicle or truck for small distances, as when the operator is manipulating same to engage and/or discharge a load. As an additional means for controlling the rocking movement of the enclosing housing 2|, the chassis I is also shown as provided with a rockable platform 21 that is located at one side of the driving wheel 12 and from which there extends an operating connection or rod 29 that connects with a lower part of the enclosing housing 2!. At the other side of the driving wheel l2 the chassis i0 carries a second platform 28 which, in this embodiment, is shown as fixed upon the chassis and somewhat larger than the rockable foot platform 21. With these platforms 2'! and 28 arranged as shown, it will be readily seen that an operator may ride thereupon astride the driving wheel l2 in a position where he can, by a rocking of the foot platform 21, cause the enclosing housing 2| to be rocked upon its journaled support upon the pedestal I8 and thus selectively move one or the other of the travel producing cylindrical members 22 and 23 into cooperatinng engagement with the cylindrical power delivery means 24 and thus effect either a forward or reverse travel of the vehicle or truck as a whole. To protect the operator, the chassis i0 is also shown as provided with a rear wheel enclosing housing 30 which is hinged at one side upon a base portion 3| by means of hinges 32 so as to completely enclose the driving wheel I2, and at its other side it is secured in place by a spring latch 33.

Before proceeding with a more detailed description of the improved drive and controlling means, it may be stated that the prime mover driving unit, here shown as an internal combustion engine I l, is provided with all of the conventional accessories, such as a spark plug 34, magneto 35, carburetor 36, and a fuel tank 31. And in addition to these elements there is also provided a throttle controlling lever 38 by means of which the speed of the internal combustion engine I! may be controlled in the conventional manner. Supported, upon an extending portion of the crank case of the internal combustion engine ll, there is, as shown in Figure l, a guard or housing 39 that cooperates with a shield 40 upon the engine ll to completely enclose the cylindrical power delivery means 24 and the forward and reverse travel producing cylindrical members 22 and 23, This housing 39 is stationary and of a size sufiicient to permit the required rocking movements of the travel producing cylindrical members 22 and 23 as the enclosing housing 21 is rocked to establish a driving connection between the internal combustion engine I! and the shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, there is also a kick starting lever 4| by means of which the combustion engine ll may be cranked in starting, as is the practice with engines of this character. In this latter figure the fuel tank 3'! and the throttle controlling lever 38 have been omitted to expose the pedestal (B to view, and the guard or housing 39 has been omitted to expose the reverse travel producing cylindrical member 23.

Upon now referring to the remaining figures of the drawings, it will be noted, as is more clearly shown in Figure 3, that the rockable enclosing housing 2! is mounted to rock upon the pedestal l8 about an axis parallel to and in substantially horizontal alignment with the axis of the power delivery means 24, and that the forward and re- Verse travel producing cylindrical members 22 and 23 are arranged at substantially equal distances above and below this horizontal line so that as the enclosing housing 2! is rocked in the manner above described, these travel producing cylindrical members 22 and 23 will be brought into driving relation with the power delivery means 2; to effect either a forward or reverse travel of the vehicle, depending upon in which direction the enclosing housing 2| is rocked either by an operation of the manually controlled lever 2-5 or by the foot operated platform 21.

As is more clearly shown in Figure 4 of the drawings, the enclosing housing 2! is completed by a back plate 42 that has a rearwardly extending cylindrical portion 43 that is journaled Within the upper end'of the pedestal I8 and through which the power take-off or driving shaft l9 extends. In this particular arrangement the driving shaft I9 is shown as journaled in a conventional manner within the cylindrical portion 43 of the back plate 42 by means of ball bearings, and at its outer end the driving shaft l9 carries a sprocket 44 about which the driving chain 20, previously described, is adapted to run. At its inner end the driving shaft 19 extends through the back plate 42 of the enclosing housing 2! where it carries a second chain engaging sprocket 45. In this view the chain, which engages the sprocket 45, as will hereinafter appear, has been omitted. 'The front portion of the enclosing housing 2! is also here shown'as having two outwardly extending cylindrical supports Within which shafts 46 and 41, that carry the forward and reverse travel producing cylindrical members 22 and 23, are journaled. The shafts 4B and 41 are journaled within these extending cylindrical supports of the enclosing housing 2| by means of ball bearings in aconventiona1 manner, and the forward and reverse travel producing cylindrical members 22 and 23 are keyed upon the outer ends of these shafts. At its inner end the shaft 46 carries a chain engaging sprocket 48, and the shaft 4? likewise carries a similar chain engaging sprocket 49 at its inner end. Immediately above and in the plane of the sprockets 45, 48 and 45, here described as respectively carried by the driving shaft 19 and the shafts 46 and 41, there is an adjustable chain tightening sprocket 58 that is eccentrically mounted upon a stud 5| which can be turned to effect an adjustment in the tightness of a power transmitting chain which, in Figure 5 of the drawings, is designated by the numeral 52. This chain 52 is shown as disposed over and extends around the sprockets 45, 43, 49 and 58 in such a manner as to complete a driving connection between the sprocket 4-5 and the sprockets 48 and 49 so that the desired direction of rotation will be imparted to the driving shaft l9 when the enclosing housing 2! is rocked to bring either one of the forward orreverse travel producing cylindrical members 22 or- 23 into driving engagement with the cylindrical power delivery means 24. These latter members and means are here shown by dot and dash lines to indicate the proximity of the cooperating elements when the enclosing housing 2! is in its neutral position. At this point it should also be noted that the forward and reverse travel producing cylindrical members 22 and 23 have spirally arranged spoke-forming webs 53' and 5d that will serve to maintain a circulation of cooling air therethrough while the driving means is in motion.

For the purpose of holding the enclosing housing 2! in its neutral position, as is shown in the several figures of the drawings, the pedestal It also carries an outwardly disposed cylindrical housing 55 in which there is mounted a roller carrying plunger 56 that is biased, by means of a compression spring'5l, against a cam-like surface'58 formed in the outer'surface of the cylindrical portion 63 carried by the back plate 42 of the enclosing housin 2 l It is believed that the operation of my improved power transmitting device will be understood from the above description. However, it may be added that in the preferred arrangement the power delivery means or cylinder 24 will be driven in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 5 of the drawings. Therefore, when the forward travel producing cylindrical member 22 is brought into engagement therewith by a counter-clockwise rocking of the enclosing housing 21, the power transmitting chain 52 will be driven in an overall clockwise direction and this will impart a clockwise direction of rotation to the sprocket 45 and cause the dliVillg shaft Hi to be turned in a corresponding direction and cause the driving chain 20 to transmit a forward travel producing rotation of the driving wheel l2. When the enclosing housing 2| is rocked in the opposite or a clockwise direction, the reverse travel producing cylindrical member 23 will be rotated in a clockwise direction and, because of the disposition of the chain 52 about the sprocket 49, the sprocket 45 will be driven in a counterclockwise direction and impart a corresponding direction of rotation to the power take-off or driving shaft l9 which will be transmitted through the chain 20 to the driving wheel I 2 and thus cause the vehicle or truck to move backward, It will also be understood that should the chain 52 become too loose or too tight, its tension can be readily adjusted by changing the eccentricity of the sprocket 59 by a turning of the eccentric stud 5 I.

While I have, for the sake of clearness and in order to disclose the invention so that the same can be readily understood, described and illustrated specific devices and arrangements, I desire to have it understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the specific means disclosed, but may be embodied in other ways that will suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art. It is believed that this invention is new and it is desired to claim it so that all such changes as come within the scope of the appended claims are to be considered as part of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a reversible drive for a prime mover unit, the combination of a prime mover unit having an extending power delivery means, a power take- 6 off shaft disposed in spaced relation with said power-delivery means, a housing journaled about the axis of said power take-off shaft, a forward.

travel controlling member carried by and extending from said housing, a reverse travel controlling member also carried by and extending from saidhousing, said housing being mounted to rock about the axis of said power take-off shaft and carry said forward or said reverse travel controlling members into engagement with said power delivery means, a sprocket connected with each of said forward and reverse travel controlling members and said power take-off shaft mounted within said-housing, an idling sprocket alsomounted within said housing in co-planar relation with the aforementioned sprockets, means operable to rock said housing and place said forward or reverse travel controlling members-into driving engagement with the extending power delivery means of said prime mover unit, and a single powertransrnitting chain arranged and-disposed-about said sprockets in a direction that-willcause saidpower take-off shaft to be driven in a forward or reverse direction as one or the other of said forward and reverse travel controlling members are brought into driving engagement with said power delivery means.

2; In a reversible drive for a prime mover unit, the combination of a prime mover unit having an extending power delivery means, a power takeoff shaft disposed in spaced relation with said power delivery means, a housing journaled about the axis of said power take-01f shaft, a forward travel controlling member carried by and extending from said housing, a reverse travel controlling member also carried by and extending from said housing, said housing being mounted to rock about the axis of said power take-off shaft and carry said forward or said reverse travel controlling members into engagement with said power delivery means, a sprocket connected with each of said forward and reverse travel controlling members and said power take-off shaft mounted within said housing, an idling sprocket also mounted within said housing in co-planar relation with the aforementioned sprockets, means operable to rock said housing and place said forward or reverse travel controlling members into driving engagement with the extending power delivery means of said prime mover unit, a single power transmitting chain arranged and disposed about said sprockets in a direction that will cause said power take-01f shaft to be driven in a forward or reverse direction as one or the other of said forward and reverse travel controlling members are brought into driving engagement with said power delivery means, and means forming an adjustable mounting for said idling sprocket and extending from said housing, whereby the position of said idling sprocket with respect to said other sprockets may be changed to thereby adjust the tightness of said power transmitting chain.

3. In a reversible drive for a prime mover unit, the combination of a prime mover unit having an xtending power delivery means, a power take-off shaft disposed in spaced relation with said power delivery means, a sprocket enclosing housing journaled to rock about the axis of said power take-off shaft, a forward travel producing member journaled upon and extending from said housing and adapted to engage said cylindrical power delivery means when said housing is rocked in one direction, a reverse travel producing m mber also journaled upon and extending from said housing and adapted to engage said extendingpower delivery means when said housing is rocked in a reverse direction, a sprocket carried by each of said forward and reverse travel producing members and said power take-oi shaft and disposed within said housing, an idling sprocket also disposed within said housing in co-planar relation with the aforementioned sprockets, means operable to rock said sprocket enclosing housing about the axis of said power take-off shaft, a single power transmitting chain disposed about all of said sprockets in a direction that will cause said power take-off shaft to be driven in a forward or reverse direction as one or the other of said forward and reverse travel producing members are brought into engagement with said power delivery means, and means normally operating to bias said enclosing housing and said forward and reverse travel producing members into a neutral position with respect to said power delivery means.

4. The combination in a drive of the character described of, a pair of driving sprockets, means for optionally imparting a corresponding direction of driving rotation to each of said driving sprockets, a driven sprocket mounted adjacent said driving sprockets, an idling sprocket adjacent said driving sprockets, and a single sprocket encircling chain disposed about said driving sprockets, said driven sprocket and said idling sprocket, whereby said driven sprocket will be driven in a diiferent direction depending upon which of said driving sprockets is rotated by said first means.

r 5. In a drive of the character described, the combination of a prime mover unit, a pair of driving sprockets adapted to be alternately driven in the same direction of rotation by said prime mover unit, a driven sprocket positioned in cooperating relation with said driving sprockets, a sprocket chain extending around said driven sprocket and portions of each of said driving sprockets, and an idling sprocket associated with said driving chain adapted and arranged to dispose said chain about said two driving sprockets and said driven sprocket in a manner that will drive said driven sprocket in opposite directions depending upon which of said pair of driven sprockets is driven by said prime mover unit.

JOHN LANDON WATERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 706,027 Crosby Aug. 5, 1902 905,022 Tiley Nov. 24, 1908 846,212 Johnson Mar. 5, 1907 982,451 Wagner Jan. 24, 1911 2,336,642 Schreck Dec. 14, 1943 1,349,939 Blacker Aug. 17, 1920 243,526 Dickinson June 28, 1881 631,438 Plass Aug. 22, 1899 

